


A Disaster A Lot Like Falling In Love

by lovewashisname



Category: Cherry's Art
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Other, Platonic Love, soft fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-06
Updated: 2017-09-13
Packaged: 2018-12-24 15:07:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12015318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovewashisname/pseuds/lovewashisname
Summary: Feelings? ...Love? Nope. Never heard of them.Rodney doesn't know how to deal with his feelings, especially not the soft ones.





	1. Chapter 1

Rodney sat up, rolling his eyes when he saw Gale, asleep, beside him. He stared at the redhead for a moment or two, a placid and tired expression on his face. The ugliness that Rodney would often call out was softened when Gale slept, his features mellow and calm as he breathed softly.

Rodney looked down at his lap, sighing as he pushed his hair out of his face. The placid expression faded into a more irritated one, and he shook his head, getting up and out of bed. As he got ready to leave for his own home, his mind was full of small remarks and regrets concerning last night.

He figured he'd just leave. Was Fey up yet? Surely he wasn't. He didn't think Dimitri would be, either. Even if he was, Rodney could just avoid any annoying subjects. That would be easy with Dimitri, wouldn't it? He hoped so, anyway.

He cast one last look back to Gale (who was still asleep – Rodney wondered if it was even possible to snore so much), and stepped out of the room. He was careful not to make a lot of noise, but when he walked past the kitchen, Fey was already awake.

"Ah, Rodney!" the blonde said sweetly, getting up from the kitchen table. Rodney kept walking to the front door, starting to put on his shoes, when he felt Fey's hand on his arm. He turned to glare at him, but Fey wasn't wearing his usual soft smile, so he stopped for a moment, sighing.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice quiet and rather hoarse. "I'm fucken' tired." Fey pouted, pulling his hand off of Rodney's arm as he stood back. He was still wearing just a sweater and shorts, and he wasn't wearing mascara yet, either.

"Can we talk?" Fey asked, playing with his fingers as he spoke. "I made coffee." He smiled at Rodney, though he still looked rather uneasy. Rodney was about to refuse, when he stopped to think. Could this conversation really be so bad? Bad enough to make him turn down free coffee?

He stopped putting on his shoes, ignoring the sigh of relief that came from Fey. "Make it quick, okay?" he muttered as he made his way back to the kitchen. Fey padded after him, pouring him a mug of coffee and sitting at the kitchen table.

He was silent for a while, the soft smile fading from his lips. He looked back to Rodney, and he smiled a little again. "What happened last night?" he asked quietly, pressing his palms against his thighs. It wasn't so much a nervous habit as it was his wanting to fiddle with his hair. 

Rodney raised an eyebrow. He wanted to drop the coffee and leave, but there was no real point, was there? Surely Fey knew the answer to this question. Surely. Rodney felt his cheeks flush and he set down the mug of coffee.

"Why the fuck d'you want to know?" he said (it was more of a statement than a question). He tapped his fingers on the cup, feeling impatient. He had little to no patience to begin with, and he certainly didn't have enough for this kind of discussion. "Isn't it already obvious?"

Fey glared at him, looking more hurt than anything else. He was trying to have a serious conversation with Rodney – he really was. He didn't want to be sworn at, or for Rodney to avoid his questions. He sighed, lifting a hand to fiddle with a lock of blond hair. "Yeah, but... Why?" he asked, his words faltering. "Gale was drunk."

Rodney shrugged, rolling his eyes. "That's what happens when you drink," he said, bringing the mug of coffee to his lips. "Or at least what happens when you drink too much." He sipped from the coffee now, grimacing. It wasn't as good as he'd hoped.

Fey pouted. He shook his head, trying to sort his thoughts into sentences that might somehow get through to Rodney. "But you weren't," he insisted, which made Rodney grimace again. "Gale was drunk, but you /weren't/, so why did you-"

"I don't want to talk about this right now," Rodney interrupted, setting down the mug and standing up straight. "Why does it matter so much, anyway? Aren't you always talking about how nothing'll ever happen to Gale? He'll be fine. He's fine. He's still sleeping."

Fey stood up, frowning now. "Because Gale is my friend, that's why it matters!" he argued, not fully shouting yet. He didn't want to wake up Gale, or Dimitri. "He's not... He still has feelings. And you're being a real douche." He rubbed the back of his neck, unsure if what he'd said was good enough to make Rodney talk to him.

"What the fuck does it matter to you? Why're you defending him so much?" Fey wasn't shouting, but now Rodney was, and it made the blonde flinch. His earrings glistened in the soft morning light that poured into the kitchen, and he winced. "None of this matters."

Rodney was only shouting because he felt guilty. He didn't want to have this conversation, because he knew he was wrong, and Fey was right. He was too tired to make any valuable arguments anyway, and all he could do was swear and ask selfish questions. He felt like he was being selfish. He felt /bad/.

"You were all over him last night," Fey said, and he sounded a little sad. Like Rodney had disappointed him somehow. "And it sucks, because he was drunk, and you weren't! You should stay and talk to him. At least, just.. I don't know, say bye to him." Fey's words were faltering again. It made both of them uneasy.

Rodney was quiet for a moment, before he shook his head and sighed, sounding even more exasperated than before. "Whatever," he said, and it was more of a grunt than a word. Fey ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head, like everything was wrong in the world (and maybe it wasn't so bad, but it did seem like a lot of things were wrong in his world, at least).

There was more silence. Loud silence that rang through the kitchen and made both of them uncomfortable, to the point where Rodney wished he had just refused to have this talk, and that he'd just left straight away. He was, in fact, about to leave, when he heard heavy footsteps, and a half-asleep, half-dressed Gale walked into the kitchen.

The redhead rubbed the back of his head, groaning softly. He didn't seem to notice the tension in the room, nor did he seem to realise that there was an argument at hand. Instead, he smiled at both of his friends. "Morning," he said, his voice still rough from sleep.

He went to hug Rodney, but the other pushed him away and took the opportunity to leave. Gale paused, his arms still in mid-air, and his smile seemed to drop, like he'd just been slapped. Rodney may as well have slapped him, Fey thought. Maybe it would even have hurt less. 

The front door slammed shut, and Gale sort of realised what he was doing woth his arms, because he let them fall to his side. His features were laced with a sleepy kind of hurt and disappointment. Fey eyed the bite marks on Gale's neck, and the parts of his shoulders that were visible, and shook his head softly.

He gently pressed his hand between Gale's shoulderblades, forcing a soft smile. "I'll make you pancakes for breakfast," he said gently. This comment seemed to snap Gale out of his thoughts, though, because he scoffed and shook his head.

"Fey," he said, raising an eyebrow. "You can't make pancakes to save your life."


	2. Chapter 2

Gale called Rodney. More than once. Rodney didn't pick up, though, so he left voicemail. He couldn't think of why Rodney wouldn't pick up. It didn't make sense. They were best friends (or maybe something else – Gale wasn't sure what was supposed to happen after that night).

 

Eventually, he gave up on trying to call him. It was a waste of time, and money, in the end. He worked more than usual. He stole so much, he couldn't carry it all. Not even Dimitri wanted to go out that much.

 

Fey worried about him. Rodney wasn't avoiding Fey the way he was avoiding Gale, so they still spoke. But it usually ended in a vaguely annoying half-argument that was dropped with no clear solution. It annoyed Fey, because Gale looked lonely without Rodney, and Fey didn't want for Gale to be lonely.

 

Rodney didn't want for Gale to be lonely, either. But what was he supposed to do? He still felt, for some reason, both guilty and embarrassed. He knew that Gale probably felt none of those things. The redhead was either still expecting his affection, or he had already moved on.

 

And Rodney was doing neither of those things, which for some reason, made him feel even worse. He didn't understand how he felt, and this only seemed to mess things up more. It put him on edge whenever Gale called him, and made his stomach flip when he ignored the call.

He was bound to run into Gale at some point. He knew this. He'd gone to get cigarettes, something he did more often than he should, and he'd managed to bump into Gale on his way in. Although, maybe 'bump' was the wrong word. 

Because, when he walked into Gale, he both hurt his nose, and dropped his coffee, which induced a long string of swears and insults. "Hey, why don't you watch where you're fucken' going, you piece of-"

His voice cut off when he saw a rather disoriented Gale, who had also dropped his pack of cigarettes. The two of them stood there for a moment or two, (in which time, Rodney's cheeks seemed to heat up infinitely), until Gale grinned brightly and held out his arms for a hug.

"Rodney!" he said happily, pulling a still-shocked Rodney into a warm hug. "Where've you been? I called you everyday, and you never answered!" Rodney felt his stomach flip at this. What was he supposed to say?

'Oh, I didn't answer, because I'm pretty sure you're fucking up my feelings somehow and I want no part in it'? Or maybe just, 'I've decided to ignore you from now on, thanks'. He patted Gale's back, shaking his head as he pulled out of the hug.

"I dropped my phone," he said with a shrug, which made the redhead raise and eyebrow. He huffed, pointing at the now empty paper cup on the ground. "You have to buy me coffee now." Gale laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Sorry, mate," he said, grabbing Rodney's hand (did he grab it? or just hold it? Rodney couldn't tell). "Where d'you wanna go? Starbucks?" He said it so casually, that Rodney just nodded at first, hardly realising the hand-holding thing.

But after a few moments of walking, he realised, and Gale flinched as he felt Rodney pull his hand away, swearing quietly. "What the hell, fire-crotch?" he muttered, his cheeks flushing just the slightest. "Why're we holding hands?"

Gale pouted, (which Rodney would have made fun of, if it were not for his embarrassment right now), and reached for his hand again, only to be rejected. "No, we're not holding hands," Rodney protested, grimacing and looking off to the side. "Jesus Christ.."

Gale huffed and shoved his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. "Why're you making such a big deal of it?" he asked, actually sounding a little hurt. Rodney felt his stomach sink, as though he could still, somehow, get even more anxious than he currently was. "You didn't even... If you didn't want to do anything, you could've said."

Rodney glared at him now, hating the way that Gale made him feel guilty about this mess. He sighed and rubbed the space between his eyes with the heel of his hand. He knew he'd done something wrong, but it wasn't /so/ bad. It really wasn't. Was it?

"Well, it wasn't like I could say no, you idiot," he muttered, not looking at Gale, who was looking more and more confused as this conversation went on. The redhead stopped walking, and Rodney grimaced, turning to look at him.

"Rodney, mate, I don't understand," he said in a voice that was softer than he usually spoke. Rodney sighed, looking up, clenching and unclenching his fists in an act of impatience. "What do you mean, you couldn't say no? You totally could've said no, it wouldn't have been–"

"I couldn't say no, okay?" Rodney insisted, raising his voice just a little. Everyone was making him feel bad about this, and he wanted them to stop. He didn't usually feel guilty about anything, and he didn't like having to deal with this weight on his shoulders all the time.

Gale opened his mouth to speak, but Rodney got there before him. "I just couldn't, okay?" he said, raising a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. "I feel like shit because of it, so just stop, okay? Stop trying. It's enough to see you, wearing your shitty clothes and shitty sunglasses, so just stop."

He paused for a moment, looking at Gale, who seemed, (for reasons which Rodney was unable to understand) extremely hurt. "What?" he asked, a question to which he received no response. In fact, Gale looked even more disappointed than before. Rodney sighed, swearing under his breath.

"Jesus, Gale, at least fucken' talk to me," he muttered, trying not to sound too guilty. Gale produced a nervous laugh, and shoved his hands around his pockets until he found a cigarette, which he proceeded to take out and light.

Rodney crossed his arms, unsure of what to do in a situation like this. Gale looked at him for a while, smoking nervously as he thought of a reply. "I don't know if you're blind or whatever, but I have feelings, yeah?" he mumbled, his stomach flipping. "And I have feelings for /you/, too."

Rodney's eyes widened, and he stepped backward, stumbling almost. "What the fuck..?" he muttered, which made Gale frown and look at the floor. They both stood there for a moment, red-faced and awkward. Rodney didn't like this. He didn't like this awkwardness.

He didn't like /any/ of this. Not the awkwardness, the guilt or the Gale looking at him with this soft, sad expression that made him feel weird on the inside. "Whatever," Gale said quickly, waving his hand dismissively. "I'll see you around, yeah, mate?"

Rodney was about to protest, but then Gale flashed him a quick, false grin, and his stomach tied itself in knots. He huffed and watched Gale leave, crossing his arms as though he were throwing a tantrum. He looked both irritated and flustered, which wasn't a good combination on him.

And, God, what was this feeling doing to his stomach?


	3. Chapter 3

Rodney didn't know what to do. He didn't know what he was /feeling/. He hadn't realised he could end up with the sort of feelings that made him nervous, or flustered, or weirdly lonely. He liked being alone, so why was this any different now?

Maybe he could go for a smoke with Gale. Actually, no. Now Gale was the one avoiding him (very awkwardly, and in a way that meant they still talked often, but it was avoidance all the same). Maybe he could get coffee with Fey, but he didn't want another argument, and he certainly didn't want to be scolded about his lack of loyalty.

So he spent an entire week at home, leaving only to smoke and get food. It wasn't like he had that much to do, now that it was unpleasant to be around his friends. It wasn't like he really had anyone to get advice from, either. Maybe Eva, but he guessed that she likely had better things to do.

He rolled over in bed, staring at his blank phone screen with an expression that was just as blank. Why wouldn't anyone call him? Did Gale really not miss him? And why was he so worried about Gale missing him or not? He groaned, pushing his face into his pillow and shoving down the warm feeling in his chest. He had no patience for all these soft, warm feelings.

"Might as well go back to sleep," he muttered, looking rather irritated as he set his phone down and pulled the sheets over his head again. He wasn't falling asleep though. It felt like he'd been under the covers forever, but he was sure that if he would check, only five minutes would have passed.

Then his phone started ringing. He practically threw the sheets off of himself as he grabbed his phone, sitting up to look at the screen. His heart leapt when he saw that it was Gale calling. He drummed his fingers on his thigh, considering for a moment.

But in the end, could a little awkwardness and feelings really be worse than being inside all day? Again? He answered the call, and the line was silent for a moment or two before Gale spoke. "Hey, Rod!" he said, and he sounded more upbeat than Rodney had heard him in a while.

"Hey, Gale," Rodney said, his voice still half-asleep, and rather tired. He rubbed the back of his head, which made his hair even messier than it already had been. "You wanna... Hang out? Or something?" He felt nervous asking this. He didn't know why (maybe it was those stupid feelings again – god, he had to get rid of those).

Gale seemed taken aback, because once again, the line was silent for about ten seconds, in which Rodney could practically feel his heart jumping into his throat. "Yeah, sure," Gale said, and Rodney let out a barely audible sigh. "We can go get coffee, if you want."

Rodney nodded, and when he realised that Gale couldn't see him, he mumbled a quiet 'yes'. Gale seemed happy with this answer, because when he spoke again, he sounded ecstatic. "Okay! So I'll see you in half an hour?" he asked, his voice laced with evident excitement.

Rodney sighed and nodded. "Yeah, half an hour," he said, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "See you then, fire-crotch." Gale said goodbye, and then they hung up. Rodney put a hand over his stomach, and was silent for a moment.

What was that saying about being in love? That you got butterflies in your stomach? Well, Rodney's stomach was full of fucking rhinoceroses, and they would not stop stampeding.

~

Gale wasn't sure why he'd said to Rodney for them to meet up in half an hour. He was at Starbucks in five minutes, and he had nothing to do there except wait for Rodney. He messed with his phone, cleaned his sunglasses, inspected his outfit (which consisted of a pink hoodie, a green croptop and striped blue shorts), but nothing seemed to help time pass.

He decided he could call Rodney. It'd be better than waiting hopelessly for twenty more minutes. Rodney picked up on the second ring, seeming rather exasperated at recieving another phonecall so soon. "What do you want?" Rodney asked, his voice giving way to a yawn.

"Just wanted to ask how long you were gonna take," Gale said, smiling as he spoke to him. It'd been a while since they'd had a normal conversation, without feeling guilty or awkward for some reason or another. "I'm already here." There was the sound of Rodney coffee and then a hum of approval.

"Yeah, I can see you," Rodney said, and Gale looked up, scanning the people on the street to see if he could spot Rodney. He pouted when he didn't see him, picking at the edge of a plaster on his nose. "Jesus, Gale, what the fuck are you wearing?"

Gale laughed softly and shrugged, shaking his head. "Where are you, mate? I can't see you," he said, huffing quietly as he tried to spot Rodney: grey hair, dark circles, grey boots. There was a short, quick sigh from the other end of the phone before Rodney spoke again.

"Other side of the road from you," he said. Gale looked up, and saw Rodney looking at him. Despite his placid expression, and the dark circles under his eyes being worse than usual, he seemed rather pleased to see Gale (who was grinning like a madman now that he'd spotted Rodney). "I'll be there in a second. Stop smiling like that."

Gale grinned even more, which made Rodney roll his eyes as they ended the phonecall. Gale felt his stomach flip. Had his stomach ever done that before? He felt like it had, but he couldn't really remember it doing that. And he definitely couldn't remember this warm feeling in his heart, either.

Sure, he'd figured his feelings out by now, but that didn't make them any easier to deal with. Why did he have feelings for Rodney? Rodney wasn't exactly /nice/ to him, nor was he awfully attractive. But he'd managed to mess up Gale's feelings anyway, and now the redhead had to make them all better.

He was still lost in thought when Rodney set his hand on his shoulder. He looked up, grinning as he saw Rodney looking over his features. "D'you get in another fight?" he asked, pressing his thumb against Gale's nose, which made him whimper.

"Yeah," he said, smiling as he played with his sunglasses. "What about you? You look tired as shit, mate." Rodney sighed, rubbing his eyes and glaring at Gale, who was still grinning. He was tired. The usual grey smudge under his eyes was a weird mix of purple and black, and his hair was a mess.

"Yeah, I'm tired as fuck," he muttered, pulling his hand away from his eyes. "You're lucky I even turned up." Gale rolled his eyes. He wanted to remind Rodney that he wasn't the one who'd suggested that they get coffee, but what was the point? Rodney'd blame him for calling in the first place.

So instead of reminding him why they were getting coffee in the first place, he gripped Rodney's jaw, and kissed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope,,,,, this isn't ooc ;A;


	4. Chapter 4

Fey was sleeping with Ryan on the sofa when Gale woke up in the middle of the night. They were completely tangled in eachother, and Fey looked so at peace that Gale didn't want to make them move to the bed. So he went to the kitchen, where Dimitri was messing around on a laptop.

He looked up when Gale came in, smiling a little. "Hey," he said, and his voice made it sound like he'd just woken up. He shut the laptop and squeezed his eyes shut as Gale turned on the lights. "What're you doing up?" Gale shrugged and found a pack of cigarettes, putting one between his lips.

"Advice?" Gale asked Dimitri, who rolled his eyes and nodded. Gale's eyes widened and he pouted. "What? Why're you making that face?" Dimitri grinned and watched Gale as he lit his cigarette.

"Nothing," Dimitri said, drumming his fingertips on the table. "I love this story: 'Rodney and Gale fuck and now neither of them knows how to deal with their feelings'." Gale's cheeks flushed and he pushed out a lungful of smoke.

"Who says Rodney and me did anything like that?" he mumbled, sitting up on the kitchen counter to swing his legs. Dimitri shrugged, stretching and letting out a soft yawn. He should have gone to sleep a long time ago.

"Fey," Dimitri said, as though it were obvious. "He's so worried, he never stops talking about how Rodney's a good friend but not a good boyfriend." Gale grimaced a little, raising an eyebrow as he considered this.

"Well, Rodney ain't anyone's boyfriend," he mumbled, still trying to get over what Dimitri had said. Was everything really so obvious? He hoped not. His feelings were easier to sort after this afternoon, so maybe he could get rid of them before Dimitri's title for this story got even worse.

Dimitri shrugged and sighed. "My advice?" he asked, to which Gale nodded. He rubbed the back of his head, and was silent for a moment or two before he looked at Gale. "Fey's right. You guys don't make such a good couple."

Gale's shoulders drooped, kind of like he was a flower wilting. Dimitri felt bad, watching as Gale smoked, a small pout on his lips. "Thanks, mate," he muttered, swinging his legs as he very clearly sulked over Dimitri's advice.

"But, if you like him or whatever, then I bet he likes you, too," Dimitri mumbled, just to make Gale a little happier. It worked, because the redhead sat up straighter, his purple eyes excited as he put out his cigarette on the counter and swung his legs again.

"Really?" he asked, to which Dimitri replied with a half-hearted nod. Gale was practically radiating happiness now, his grin so bright that Dimitri looked back at the table, sighing through his nose. He hoped that this wasn't going to end with a broken-hearted Gale.

"Yeah, now go back to sleep," he said, opening the laptop again. Gale nodded and trudged back to bed, humming as he passed Ryan and Fey. Ryan was awake, and he waved at the redhead as he passed by.

~

When Gale got back to his bed, Rodney was sat up, a small frown on his lips as he waited for the redhead. "Where the fuck did you go?" he asked as Gale sat beside him, grinning as he leaned against the annoyed insomniac.

"I went to smoke," Gale said, grinning at Rodney, who huffed and crossed his arms. Rodney leaned back against Gale, so that they were both sort of relying on eachother, but not really. It was nice, Gale thought, although Rodney wasn't really warm, like he would've expected.

"Why couldn't you just smoke in here?" Rodney asked, putting an arm around Gales waist (not so much around his waist, as just resting there, because it was more comfortable after all). "I thought you went out or somethin'."

Rodney still sounded half-asleep, and it made Gale smile. He liked Rodney like this – not so angry, or annoyed. Just tired and a little clingy. Gale shook his head, letting his head drop against Rodney's. "I didn't want you to wake up to me smoking," he said. "You'd be pissed at me."

Rodney huffed and shut his eyes. He wasn't going to fall asleep again, but he may as well rest. Gale was warmer than Rodney, and he felt like a human blanket against him. "Whatever," he mumbled. The two of them were silent for a while, just appreciating each other's presence, before Rodney spoke again.

"What is this?" he asked, opening his eyes and glancing at Gale. Gale tilted his head to the side and hummed softly to show that he didn't understand the question. Rodney sat up a little straighter and huffed. "/This/," he said, sounding a little frustrated. "What we're doing. What is it?"

Gale was still rather confused, but he thought about the question as best as he could. After a while he shrugged, shaking his head. "Boyfriends, if you want?" he offered, which made Rodney snort and shake his head. Gale huffed, his cheeks flushing.

"Friends?" he asked this time, watching Rodney close his eyes and nod. "Until we figure out everything?" Rodney nodded again and this time put both his arms around Gale's waist.

"Okay," he said, sighing quietly. "Just until we figure everything out."


	5. Chapter 5

This was a stupid idea. Rodney ran a hand through his hair as he waited for Gale. Stupid idea. It was his own fault for asking that stupid kid, anyway. He'd been at Gale's place, and Ryan and Grimm were studying together.

Ryan had gone to get food, and Rodney had (for reasons he himself didn't understand) decided to ask Grimm for advice. "Hey, kid," he'd said, to which Grimm had replied with a half-hearted hum. "Where d'you and your boyfriend go on dates?"

Grimm had looked up, narrowing his eyes and glaring at Rodney like he was being asked a trick question. He didn't want to give a wrong answer and get Rodney to make fun of his hair. So he'd shrugged and said, "Go get pizza, then maybe go to a park or something. Have a sleepover and watch movies."

Instead of Rodney slapping him upside the head like Grimm had expected, he just nodded, then got up and left. This was the advice that had led to Rodney, looking just a little less tired than usual, and waiting for Gale outside a pizza place that the two of them could afford.

Gale wasn't /late/ exactly. But that was only because Rodney had been about ten minutes late too. The idea that both of them were late to their first, proper date, was sort of annoying to Rodney. It would've been better if only one of them was late. Or was that just his way of trying to feel less guilty?

He waited for two more minutes, sighing exasperatedly as he looked around for Gale, before somebody ran into his back. He heard loud laughter, and then a soft snort as two arms made their way around his waist. "Hey," Gale said, which made Rodney let out a relieved sigh.

"Jesus Christ, fire-crotch," he mumbled, turning in Gale's arms and setting his arms on the redhead's shoulders. He watched his date grin and snort again. "Where the fuck were you? You're twenty minutes late."

Gale shrugged, and he smiled a sweet, crooked smile that made Rodney's stomach flip. "I'm here now, right? And I got you something!" he said. He looked so proud of himself, that Rodney couldn't bring himself to make fun of him.

"What'd you get me?" Rodney asked, letting Gale pull away from him to produce an opaque black bag, handing it to Rodney, who opened it with an expression vaguely similar to curiousity. He opened the bag, and pulled out a pale grey mug, with the words 'World's #1 Grumpy Person' on it. 

He snorted, and Gale grinned. "D'you like it?" he asked, waiting for Rodney's reaction. He looked so excited, like he couldn't contain his happiness. Rodney put it back in the bag, and nodded, setting his hand on Gale's shoulder.

"Yeah," he said, pressing a kiss to Gale's cheek. It was one of the first signs of affection he'd shown the redhead, and it made both of them blush (although Rodney definitely blushed more than Gale – he was still very unsure of what he was doing). "Thanks fire-crotch."

~

"How was your date?" Fey asked, raising an eyebrow as he watched Gale walk into the house. There was a crooked smile on his lips, and his cheeks were flushed pink in a way that made Fey pout a little.

"It was good!" Gale said, grinning as he took off his coat and sat beside Fey on the sofa. The blond smiled his soft, sweet smile and put his arm around the redhead, who was still grinning brightly. "He liked the mug."

Fey hummed, nodding as he leaned into his best friend. "You really wanna date him?" he asked, to which the redhead replied with a nod and a bright smile. He leaned into the blond, so that they were press together, in a sideways hug. "Okay..."

"What about you?" Gale asked Fey, turning to look at him. "You look sad." Fey pouted and shook his head, sniffling a little as he rubbed at his eyes. Gale frowned, watching as his brown eyes brimmed with tears.

"I was j-just lonely," he stuttered, his bottom lip shaking as he leaned against Gale. Gale's eyes widened a little, and he pulled his friend closer, not really knowing exactly what he should do. "And I d-didn't want to be alone, but R-Ryan was busy and Dimitri w-went out..."

Fey's voice trailed off, and he sniffled, rubbing his eyes and smudging mascara all over his cheeks. Gale was unsure of what to do. Was it his fault for going out and leaving Fey alone? But Fey had said it was okay... Maybe he was counting on Ryan to turn up.

"Well, it's okay now, right?" he said, trying to sound at least vaguely reassuring. "I'm here now, you're not all by yourself." Fey only seemed more upset by this, because he covered his face and let out a long, low whine.

"Yeah, b-but now you've got Rodney and-and Ryan's busy with s-school," he stuttered, pausing to sniffle a little. "D-Dimitri d-doesn't want to spend time at h-home, and I'm just gonna be alone... N-No one wants to spend time with me."

Gale's expression became full of both guilt and sadness as he shook his head, hugging Fey and gently patting his back. "I still want to spend time with you," he said softly, trying to sound upbeat, even though he felt like the worst friend ever. "I promise I'll still spend time with you. You don't need to worry."

Fey was silent, sniffling and wiping away the tears on his cheeks. He looked at Gale, his brown eyes wide and hopeful. "You promise?" he asked, his voice shaking. Gale nodded and ruffled his best friend's hair.

"Yeah," he said. "I promise."


	6. Chapter 6

Rodney glanced up, seeing Gale trudge into the kitchen, still half-asleep, rubbing his eyes like a small child. "Morning," he greeted the redhead, who sat beside him at the kitchen table. Gale responded with something halfway between a grunt and a hum.

Rodney put tucked a lock of hair away from Gale's face and put an arm around his shoulders. Instinctively, Gale leaned into Rodney, who was now practically being cradled by a slightly grumpy Rodney. "You didn't get enough sleep?" he asked, to which Gale replied by shaking his head.

"Dumbass," Rodney mumbled, which made Gale whine and open his eyes. He stared at Rodney for a few moments, looking rather betrayed, before reaching up and patting Rodney's cheek.

"It's your fault. You move a lot in your sleep," he said, his voice still rough from sleep. Rodney huffed at this, picking up his mug of coffee and sipping from it. "Morning, grumpy." This made Rodney slightly less grumpy (although he definitely couldn't justify why).

"How's Fey?" Rodney asked, setting down his mug and turning to look at Gale. He looked at him for a while, his dark, tired eyes scanning his features before he turned away. "You said he was upset, or something like that."

Gale pulled back from Rodney, but let his arm rest around the other's shoulders still. "He's better," he said, smiling at Rodney. "I think Ryan realised that he was upset, and they got to spend more time together." Rodney raised an eyebrow at this, looking up from his phone to Gale.

"He was lonely?" he asked, sounding rather taken aback. Gale nodded, getting up (but not before running his fingers through Rodney's hair). Rodney hummed, which could have been a positive or negative thing, but Gale really couldn't tell.

He sighed, rubbing his eyes and getting together things for making pancakes. "Yeah," he said. "He was alone a few nights in a row... He doesn't like being alone." This time, Rodney responded with a hum which was easily interpreted as him trying to prove that he was listening.

Rodney set down his phone and rested his face on his palm, watching as Gale went about making breakfast. He wondered how many times a week Gale ate pancakes, and then wondered if Gale was good at cooking anything else. He'd never eaten something cooked by Gale that /wasn't/ pancakes.

He sighed, which made Gale glance at him, and then he sort of let out a soft huff of air that made him sound annoyed. "Are you making pancakes for me too?" he asked, which made Gale grin. The redhead nodded.

"'Course I am!" he said, his voice laced with happiness, and then turned back to making pancakes. Rodney waited until he was sure that Gale wasn't looking, and until there was no choice that Gale would look, and let himself sigh quietly, and smile just a little.

~

"Rodney?"  
"What?"   
"You figured anything out yet?"  
"Yeah. Why?"  
"Can we be boyfriends then?"  
"Sure. Whatever you want, fire-crotch."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> last chapter. v domestic, v short and soft. there is also a shitty axel/grimm oneshot coming soon. thanks @ anyone who read this fic, it was so good of y'all, and it made me really happy.


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